Forest Restoration

A primer on forest restoration...

Here at the Cora Hartshorn Arboretum we are working to restore our 16-acres of woodlands. When restoration began in 2000, the site was basically a degraded woodland. Thanks primarily to the efforts of dedicated volunteers, the Arboretum is moving toward our goal to restore and sustain healthy, diverse woodland where native trees, shrubs, herbaceous plants, and native fauna can flourish.

Historically, municipal entities used to think that by drawing boundaries around woodlands and setting them aside, the woodlands would be fine. But as arborists, ecologists and foresters have discovered, passively managed woodlands degrade over time. Many factors conspire against woodlands in the Mid-Atlantic States including:

Human development and encroachment

Invasive species, such as plants, insects, and other wildlife

Over browsing by high populations of White-tailed Deer

Pollution and other types of habitat degradation

The restoration we are doing at the Hartshorn Arboretum in partnership with the Township of Millburn is a kind of demonstration project: teaching by doing the actual work. We know this kind of work is a slow process and progress will only come with effort.

This demonstration project seeks to:

Advance ecological restoration practices

Enhance our knowledge of how a woodland ecosystem works

Serve as a model for other initiatives that aim to recover a woodland’s health and long-term sustainability

In our 16-acre woodland restoration project, the Hartshorn Arboretum is demonstrating ecological restoration practices we hope will bring favorable results and help us achieve our goal, which is to restore and sustain a healthy, diverse woodland where native trees, shrubs, herbaceous plants, and wildlife can flourish.